Royals
by Ctcz1959
Summary: The complete family history of the most notable rulers of the illustrious Hou Ting Dynasty from its founding to its deposing as compiled by the right honorable Gun, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and Viscount Chen. Including all of the intrigue, murder, politics and bears.
1. Family Tree

**THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND HONORABLE HOUSE HOU-TING**

Abahai the Magnanimous

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Lady Cian Bei Fong+++++++++Durgan, 2nd Earth King====Ohng the Unworthy, 3rd Earth King

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Taizhong, 4th Earth King++++++Princess Mazu of the Fire Nation

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The 27 Summer Kings

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Yi Ming the Engineer, 31st Earth King

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The 14 Autumn Kings

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Tian the Great, 45th Earth Queen

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Kang, 46th Earth King

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The 5 Winter Kings

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Kuei, 52nd Earth King+++++++Consort Song

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Princess Tzu====Princess Giyang+++++Cao Ming====Xingzhen, 53rd Earth Queen

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Prince Taizhong+++++Lady Ahming

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Wu, 53rd Earth King


	2. Chapter I

It seems as though the monarchy has come to an end at the hands of a warlord and her troops. It is under these sorrowful circumstances that I, Lord Gun, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and Viscount Chen, pen this book: The history of the Hou Ting Dynasty. The Hou Tings have a long and storied history as our sovereigns, ruling consecutively for roughly 6 centuries. Though almost no one knows why. It is my sacred duty as the de facto head of the Bureau for Cultural Protection and Patrimony to enlighten you good reader on this illustrious and honorable house, and our rightful leaders. So without further ado, let us being at the very top.

**Chapter I, The Winter of Endless War**

_In which the Warlord Mengde rebels and chaos reigns._

The story of the Hou Tings can be traced back to the dark ages of the Earth Kingdom. Before Ba Sing Se was the capital rule over most of the Earth Lands was centralized in Omashu. Though in reality there wasn't any centralized government. Omashu had a king yes, but he had little power over his vassals. Gaoling, Jinzhou, Shunhai and the rest of the great southern cities were all feudatories, independent except in name. Meanwhile to the east the great Si Wong was under the stranglehold of the Beetle Head clique, a malevolent cultish consortium of which there are some remnant still today. To the north and west there were some scattered warrior states but it was mostly overrun with barbarians. One of the few civilized states of the north was the Feudal State of Taku, no longer extant. The east was the most inconsequential area in this period. It was home to otrichhorse-riding warriors and nomads who were more concerned with fighting each other and the occasional sand bender raid than ruling. This would all change of course during the Winter of Endless War.

The grasp Omashu had on its vassals was weak since the days of Oma. A few Omashu kings had attempted to reorganize the Kingdom such as Sagacious Lao, known more commonly for befriending the spirit Wan Shi Tong, or the less well known Pu the Unready. However, each of these attempts was met with continued strife from Omashu's autonomous lords. The straw that broke the camelephant's back however, was the appointment of the boy king Shu IV to the throne. Mostly due to the influence of his mother, the unpopular Lady Tang. Lady Tang was an "Arbitrary shrew of a woman […] meddling in the business of noble lords, and favoring her menagerie of lovers in court positions" to quote the historian Fao of Makapu. Some more radical historians like Ying Fang claim she was responsible for the murder of her late husband with some very tainted rice wine and mushrooms. It was theses boiling political pressures plus the economic downturn caused by renewed raids from the sand benders that led to the Defiance of Gaoling.

One of the richer states, Gaoling was led by the Great Boar, Mengde Bei Fong. Mengde was born a pigcken farmer, but through military skill and proficiency at earthbending he proved himself a capable and at times ruthless commander. Despite his uncouth nature he was beloved by the people of Gaoling after he razed the rival city of Yi to the ground for their insolence toward Lord Gao. When Gao the elder passed it was a common knowledge that the lordship would pass to Gao the younger. However the young Gao was seen as weak and feminine. Being a nonbender as well as having studied in court at Omashu and being rumored to be one of the infamous "100 lovers" he was despised by both the nobles and peasants of Gaoling. For this reason the time was ripe for the coup that would cause the Winter of Endless War.

With the support of the people, Mengde seized the throne of Gaoling and executed Gao the younger. "The boy's head was put into a fine mahogany box which was wrapped up in silk and sent to the Queen in Omashu." This was the description given to us by Ying Fang. Another historian Jun Hua believes that the box was lacquer not mahogany and that the head itself was wrapped in silk rather than the box, but I digress. This blatant defiance of royal law meant that a state of war now existed between Gaoling and Omashu. Soon other states began choosing sides in the argument. Jinzhou declared alliance to the throne, Taku rebelled. These pacts were finite, to quote Jun Hua "It became the fashion during this period to switch alliances depending on convenience. As a result we see not only one side, but three and four sided wars." Not to mention the roving bands of looters and criminals who used the chaos to their advantage, though often times they were difficult to tell apart from the soldiers.

The Winter of Endless War stands out to any learned scholar of Earth Kingdom history as the first major nationwide war. Even though it started in the heartland of the south, it grew exponentially enveloping every tribe and kingdom on the continent. Outsiders like the opportunist Beetle Heads saw it as a chance to increase their land holdings without having to fear retribution from Omashu. As a result of this the sandbenders left their great crystal oasis, formerly known as the city of Jannah before its first destruction, invaded the east.

Now you may ask yourself; "Where was the Avatar?" well, one cannot say for sure. The Avatar during this time was Bon. Avatar Bon, or Bon the Jolly, was an immensely rotund airbender who can be marked down as one of the most skilled masters that nation ever produced. Legend says Bon could change the very weather itself, or move the mountains to his will with one stomp. We know however that Bon was an ardent pacifist. He refused to intervene beyond advice many times during his tenure as Avatar. It is disputed among historians whether this was his greatest strength or his worst weakness. Regardless of what history has to say, Bon did not intervene in this stage of the war. Leaving the Earth Lands to resolve its political disputes on their own.

Now we come to the crucible. The eastern lands, Isolated from the rest of the world by the Si Wong and the Serpent's Pass lived in relative peace, tribal squabbles aside. It helped that they held on to some of the best grazing pastures in the entire world. But all of that changed when the sandbenders attacked. Out of nowhere the disjointed tribes were faced with almost total extermination. The sandbenders were more skilled, more unified and more technologically advanced. It seemed as though nothing could save the easterners. Most of the notable tribes, the Aisin, the Mentemu, the Bektu escaped to the Dragon's Tooth peninsula off Chameleon bay. Despite their relative strength and safety, none of these clans would save the east. It would be the small and unimportant Houtu clan which had stayed behind rather than exile themselves, that would give birth to the first Earth King, Abahai.


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II, Winter's End**

_In which a king is born and the sandbenders plot from Jannah._

"On a misty day nearing the end of the fourth winter of the cycle, inside of a damp cave in the northern mountains was born the 5th chief of the Houtu clan, blessed by the bagermoles." Such is the curt and enigmatic description of the Birth of Abahai as given to us by the contemporary Fao of Makapu after his coronation. Up to this point no historical not had been taken about the Houtu clan. The only things most historians can point out is that the clan was a relatively new cadet branch of the larger and more important Aisin clan. Some, like notated Omashu School scholar Fa Huang, speculate that they are descended from Temu, the bastard son of the Aisin lord Ulan. This was disputed by later accounts from the Ba Sing Se School of thought. However, most of these accounts take place after the founding of Ba Sing Se and the establishment of the Kingdom which could add to a perceived bias. Regardless of ancestry, Abahai was born to Lord Oguz and his concubine Babusha. Lord Oguz was not present in the birthing, instead it is rumored that Babusha gave birth alone in her hiding place in the northern mountain ranges. Weakened from the birthing, Babusha had no way of walking or caring for her new born child, so by providence the spirits sent bagermoles to aid in her work. It is a widely held that the bagermoles were responsible for taking care of the young child for the first 10 years of his life. His mother was present to give suck but most of the credit is given to the bagermoles.

At the age of 11, Abahai set out from the mountains with his mother with route due east, hoping to rejoin his father's army. It was while stopping in the small outpost of Sing that tragedy struck the young boy. "The Lord of Sing, a greedy and gluttonous man named Pin the Fat, had betrayed the tribesman in favor of living comfortably as the leader of a pro-sandebender settlement. One which he ruled with an iron fist and provided him with ample slaves to sell to the merchants of Jannah." (Fao of Makapu) Pin the Fat is described unilaterally as an unpleasant wretch of a man. When the young Abahai and his mother entered the city, he saw them as yet another group of refugees to sell to the Beetle Heads. And as just as he always had, Pin the Fat called forth the visitors of Sing to partake in a welcoming celebration. The rice wine flowed for a day, and the refugees become inebriated beyond remorse. A non-combative target the allowed Pin to capture them without struggle. The Lady Babusha however had refused to touch the drink out of her own piety and maiden glory. What happens next is up to historical debates. Some say it was a guard of Pin who attempted to subdue her and got carried away. Members of the Ba Sing Se School believe that it took a squadron of trained sandbenders to subdue her. There are even some who believe it was Pin himself who was responsible for the tragedy. The outcome however was known. Babusha was slain that night and the young Ababhai fled, vowing from that point on to bring down the Sandbender Consortium and to personally kill Pin the Fat.

On the subject of earthbending: Was the first King an earthbender? We know that the linage of the Earth Kings has contained quite a few nonbenders, such as the Earth King Kuei, and many inactive earthbenders, such has his daughter the Earth Queen Xingzhen. The great majority did possess earthbending abilities, however some time along the reign of the 46th Earth King it fell out of fashion to have the sovereign bend. Earth Kingdom royalty, unlike that of less civil states like the Water Tribes or the Fire Nation, were seen as above the crass demands of warfare. As a result, no matter what ability a royal possesses they are not trained. Instead they are taught how to be proper and enlightened rulers.

Abahai however was an earthbender, and if legend serves, a very powerful one. He would spend the next 7 years wandering the plains of the east where he grew into a tall, formidable lad and passed his time fighting off bandits and sandbenders. It was here that he befriended the entourage that would accompany him for the rest of his life. First know was Qwai the Repentant, a bandit whom Abahai had defeated after he attempted to rob the young lord. Abahai showed mercy to him and took him prisoner. Despite this rough start, Qwai would be the Earth King's closest friend through both the wars and later in the future. "The King and the bandit were blood brothers, a friendship formed not out of mutual affection or interests but out of necessity. Both were alone in the world, left orphaned by the war. It was this that made them strong and that gave them the resolve to go about their own conquest." To quote Jun Hua.

Next to his odd gang was a travelling Air Nomad nun named sister Choden. Choden had reached the age of 17 and had yet to show any skill at airbending. She was then written off as a nonbender and subject to the ancient rules of the temple and exiled, only allowed to return once she had either unlocked her bending or reached enlightenment. Thus she became a true nomad and wandered the Earth Lands. Legend holds she made the acquaintance of the future king and his companion at a tavern. She was drowning away her feelings of failure and spilt a half a cask of rice wine on Abahai. The tavern master was furious ordering that the nun pay him, but Chogan was far too poor to afford the cask. Abahai instead paid for her and asked if she, like the other nuns, had any skill at medicine to heal his prisoner and friend who had gotten deathly sick after eating purple berries. The nun obliged and became close to the pair. It is also of note that this is the same sister Chogan responsible for creating the "Drunken Maiden" style of aribending, now extinct.

Concurrently to the 7 years of exiles served by Abahai on the high plains, far to the south the Sandbender Consortium (led by the Beetle Heads) had reached its zenith of power. Unlike the other nations of the world, ruled by kings, chief or a council of elders, the Sandbenders were ruled by gold. Coin had made the merchants of the Si Wong wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. They elected their rulers from the rich oligarchs that controlled trade, the most powerful of these oligarch clans were the Beetle Heads, who legend hold rose from underground on the backs of Rhinoceros beetles. They were responsible for the construction of Jannah, the Pearl of the Desert. Mo the Wanderer describes Jannah as one of the most beauteous cities in the world, even dwarfing Omashu: "The streets here are wide and top full of verdant greenery. Aqueducts of water follow alongside every road stretching from the great crystal oasis. The towers however are the most brilliant, these slender sandstone fingers reaching up to the sky topped with great domes of gold and jewels. The city is surrounded thrice by walls. One a high dune of sand, one of great red clay and one of sandstone peering up to the heavens. To find the city you must have skill and luck, as the sandbenders use manipulation of sandstorms and mirages to keep the city hidden. Indeed it is the safest place in the world." With so many great wonders, is it a surprise that the sandbenders thought themselves better than the rest of the nation? When the Winter of Endless War broke out the Oligarchs saw it as an opportunity to create a sandbender led Earth Nation. But to conquer Omashu and the south they would need troop and supplies, and where better to procure them than in the bountiful, uncivilized east?


	4. Interlude

** Anthropological Fragments from the Winter of Endless War**

**\**

**Gao the Younger's Death Poem**:

_Spring_

_Life begins in hues of pink._

_Summer_

_Lives in greens and yellows._

_Autumn_

_Lies in fields of red_

_Winter_

_Leaves forever_

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**Letter from Mengde Bei Fong to Queen Tang of Omashu**.

"Crown This." (_Attached to the severed head of Gao the Younger)_

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**Excerpt from Avatar Bon's ****_Essays on the Avatar._**

"As the bridge between the worlds it is important for all future Avatars as well as world leaders to understand that my life and all lives before and after me must be intrinsically apolitical. As Avatar Rongchan learned so painfully in the war of the Thousand Lilies, if an Avatar meddles in the affairs of nation-states it can lead to the total disintegration of the world order. The War of the Thousand Lilies brought down the Fire Sages, regardless of Rongchan's intervention. This serves to strengthen my point, to intervene in national issues is to mess with the course of nature and destiny. Of course the Avatar must keep balance and relative peace between the four nations, but if tomorrow the Air Nomad council were overthrown in favor of a King, I will have to swallow any feelings and accept this new government. Such is my role. I am here to preserve the balance of this world not govern it."

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**Omashu Girls, Traditional Soldier's Song**:

CHORUS:

_Omashu girls! Those Pretty, Pretty Girls! We'll come around to your city!_

_Omashu girls! You witty, witty girls! Don't leave me here out of pity!_

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_To Omashu, I will go, with twenty-four men right behind me_

_And there I'll find some four and twenty girls_

_And we'll make love by the pine trees!_

_[CHORUS]_

_They got a queen, fair as can be, that's what they all guarantee me_

_Well I'm gonna to go, go and love that queen_

_And I promise she'll never want to flee me!_

_[CHORUS]_

_Those Omashu girls, none better in the world_

_Just can't wait to espy me_

_When I get there, my men at my back_

_They'll thank the spirits for the draftees!_

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_Oh where are my girls? My pretty, pretty girls?_

_What have I do to repel ya?_

_Omashu girls! Those pretty, pretty girl_

_You know in your heart how I love ya!_


End file.
